Selective Presentation Of Content Types And Sources In Search

ABSTRACT

Implementations of the present disclosure include actions of receiving a search query, identifying potential search results responsive to the search query, the potential search results corresponding to digital content stored in one or more computer-readable storage media, determining that the potential search results include user-generated content that is generated using one or more computer-implemented social services, receiving data associated with the user-generated content, the data including one or more scores, determining, based on the one or more scores, that the user-generated content is to be provided as a search result, generating search results, the search results including web-based search results and at least a portion of the user-generated content, and transmitting the search results to a client computing device for display to the searching user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit and priority of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/584,602, filed Jan. 9, 2012, the disclosure of whichis expressly incorporated herein by reference in the entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to searching.

Search engines aim to identify resources (e.g., images, audio, video,web pages, text, documents) that are relevant to a user's needs and topresent information about the resources in a manner that is most usefulto the user. Search engines return a set of search results in responseto a user submitted text query. For example, in response to an imagesearch text query, the search engine returns a set of search resultsidentifying resources responsive to the query.

A large number of search results can be returned for a given query.Consequently, it can be difficult for a searching user to choose aresult that is most relevant to the searching user or that providesadvice that the searching user is comfortable relying upon. A searchinguser may give more weight to search results that are associated withreviews, opinions, or other content associated with the searching user'ssocial graph (e.g., contacts of the user) and/or other users. However,these search results can be clouded by content associated with otherusers.

SUMMARY

This specification describes technologies relating to searching.

In general, one aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in methods that include the actions ofreceiving a search query, identifying potential search resultsresponsive to the search query, the potential search resultscorresponding to digital content stored in one or more computer-readablestorage media, determining that the potential search results includeuser-generated content that is generated using one or morecomputer-implemented social services, receiving data associated with theuser-generated content, the data including one or more scores,determining, based on the one or more scores, that the user-generatedcontent is to be provided as a search result, generating search results,the search results including web-based search results and at least aportion of the user-generated content, and transmitting the searchresults to a client computing device for display to the searching user.Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding systems,apparatus, and computer program products.

These and other embodiments can optionally include one or more of thefollowing features: determining that a topicality score associated withthe user-generated content is greater than or equal to a thresholdtopicality score, the topicality score being included in the one or morescores, wherein determining that the user-generated content is to beprovided as a search result occurs in response to determining that thetopicality score associated with the user-generated content is greaterthan or equal to the threshold topicality score; the topicality scoreindicates a degree to which the user-generated content pertains to thesearch query; the topicality score indicates a degree to which theuser-generated content pertains to a matter of interest; actions furtherinclude determining that the user-generated content is recentlygenerated content, wherein determining that the topicality scoreassociated with the user-generated content is greater than or equal tothe threshold topicality score occurs in response to determining thatthe user-generated content is recently generated content; actionsfurther include: determining that the search query is a trending searchquery, and determining that the user-generated content is recentlygenerated content, wherein determining that the topicality scoreassociated with the user-generated content is greater than or equal tothe threshold topicality score occurs in response to determining thatthe search query is a trending search query and determining that theuser-generated content is recently generated content; actions furtherinclude determining that an overall score associated with theuser-generated content is greater than or equal to a threshold overallscore, the overall score being included in the data, wherein determiningthat the user-generated content is to be provided as a search resultoccurs in response to determining that the overall score associated withthe user-generated content is greater than or equal to the thresholdoverall score; actions further include determining that the search queryis not a trending search query, wherein determining that the overallscore associated with the user-generated content is greater than orequal to the threshold overall score occurs in response to determiningthat the search query is not a trending search query; the overall scorereflects a quality of the user-generated content and a relevance of theuser-generated content to the searching user; actions further include:determining that the user-generated content comprises a digital image,and determining that the digital image is to be displayed within animage search results portion of the search results; actions furtherinclude determining that the user-generated content is without textassociated with the digital image, wherein determining that the digitalimage is to be displayed within the image search results portion of thesearch results occurs in response to determining that the user-generatedcontent is without text associated with the digital image; theuser-generated content includes content generated by the searching user;the user-generated content includes content generated by an author user;the author user is a member of a social graph of the searching user; theuser-generated content includes at least one of an electronic message,text provided in a chat session, a post to a social networking service,a digital image; and the one or more social computer-implementedservices include at least one of a social networking service, anelectronic messaging service, a chat service, a micro-blogging service,a blogging service and a digital content sharing service.

The details of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure are setforth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Otherfeatures, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will becomeapparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of example sources of social graph information.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an example process for using social graphinformation.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example process for presenting searchresults including social graph information.

FIG. 4 is a representation of an example search results page includingsearch results associated with the user's social graph.

FIG. 5 depicts example components that can be used to provideuser-generated content in search results based on a user's social graph.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an example process that can be executed inimplementations of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an example process that can be executed inimplementations of the present disclosure.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of this specification are directed to retrieving and displayinguser-generated content in search results. In some examples,user-generated content can include content that is generated using oneor more social computer-implemented services. Example socialcomputer-implemented services can include a social networking service,an electronic messaging service, a chat service, a micro-bloggingservice, a blogging service and a digital content sharing service. Insome examples, the user-generated content can include content that isprovided in electronic messages, chat sessions, posts to socialnetworking services, content posted to sharing services (e.g., photosharing services) and/or content posted to a blogging service. Forpurposes of illustration, and by way of non-limiting example,implementations of the present disclosure will be discussed in thecontext of digital content generated and distributed by users of socialnetworking services. It is appreciated, however, that implementations ofthe present disclosure are applicable to other content types including,for example, electronic message content and chat content.

In some implementations, search results can be generated based on asearch query provided by a searching user. The search results caninclude content that is publicly available. In some implementations, thesearch results can include user-generated content. In some examples, theuser-generated content includes content that is generated by thesearching user and/or other users. In some implementations, and asdiscussed in further detail herein, whether and how the user-generatedcontent is displayed in the search results can be determined based oncharacteristics of the user-generated content

In some examples, user-generated content can include content that isaccess controlled. Access controlled content can include content that isassociated with privacy settings such that only select users are able toaccess the content. Example access controlled content can includecontent provided in electronic messages, chat sessions and/or posts tosocial networking services. For example, an electronic message can haveprivacy settings such that content of the electronic message is onlyaccessible to the author of the electronic message and the recipientsthat the electronic message was sent to. As another example, a chatsession can have privacy settings such that content of the chat sessionis only accessible to the participants in the chat session. As anotherexample, a post to a social networking service can have privacy settingssuch that content of the post is only accessible to the author of thepost and to users that the author has allowed access to.

In some implementations, author users associated with a particularsearching user can be identified using a social graph of the searchinguser. As used in this specification, a social graph can refer to asingle social graph or multiple interconnected social graphs. Distinctsocial graphs can be generated for different types of connections a userhas. For example, a user can be connected with chat contacts in onesocial graph, electronic message contacts in a second social graph, andconnections (or contacts) from a particular social networking service ina third social graph. Each social graph can include edges to additionalindividuals or entities at higher degrees of separation from the user.These contacts can in turn have additional contacts at another degree ofseparation from the user. Similarly, a user's connection to someone in aparticular social network can then be used to identify additionalconnections based on that person's connections. The distinct socialgraphs can include edges connecting one or more social graph to one ormore other social graphs.

Types of connections and social graphs can include, but are not limitedto other users in which the user is in direct contact (e.g., user mailor chat contact, direct contacts on social sites) and users in which theuser is in indirect contact (e.g., friends of friends, connections ofusers that have a direct connection to the user). In someimplementations, the social graph includes content generated byindividuals (e.g., blog posts, reviews) as connections to the user. Thesocial graph can include connections within a single network or acrossmultiple networks (separable or integrated). Public social graphrelationships can also be considered. In some examples, publicrelationships can be established through public profiles and/or publicsocial networking services.

FIG. 1 is a diagram 100 of example sources of social graph information.The user's social graph is a collection of connections (e.g., users,resources) identified as having a relationship to the user within aspecified degree of separation. The user's social graph can includepeople and particular content at different degrees of separation. Forexample, the social graph of a user can include friends, friends offriends (e.g., as defined by a user, social graphing site, or othermetric), the user's social circle, people followed by the user (e.g.,subscribed blogs, feeds, or web sites), co-workers, and otherspecifically identified content of interest to the user (e.g.,particular web sites).

Diagram 100 shows a user and example connections that extend a user'ssocial graph to people and content both within a system and across oneor more external networks and shown at different degrees of separation.For example, a user can have a profile or contacts list that includes aset of identified friends, a set of links to external resources (e.g.,web pages), and subscriptions to content of the system (e.g., a systemthat provides various content and applications including e-mail, chat,video, photo albums, feeds, or blogs). Each of these groups can beconnected to other users or resources at another degree of separationfrom the user. For example, the friends of the user each have their ownprofile that includes links to resources as well as friends of therespective friends. The connections to a user within a specified numberof degrees of separation can be considered the social graph of the user.In some implementations, the number of degrees of separation used indetermining the user's social graph can be specified by the user. Insome implementations, a default number of degrees of separation is used.Moreover, a dynamic number of degrees of separation can be used that isbased on, for example, the type of connection.

In some implementations, the membership and degree of separation in thesocial graph is based on other factors, including a frequency ofinteraction. For example, a frequency of interaction by the user (e.g.,how often the user visits a particular social graphing site) or type ofinteraction (e.g., endorsing or selecting items associated withfriends). As interaction changes, the relationship of a particularcontact in the social graph can also dynamically change. Thus, thesocial graph can be dynamic rather than static.

In some implementations, social signals can be layered over the socialgraph (e.g., using weighted edges or other weights between connectionsin the social graph). These signals, for example, frequency ofinteraction or type of interaction between the user and a particularconnection, can then be used to weight particular connections in thesocial graph or social graphs without modifying the actual social graphconnections. These weights can change as the interaction with the userchanges.

In some implementations, social graphs can be stored using suitable datastructures (e.g., list or matrix type data structures). Informationdescribing any aspect of a stored social graph can be consideredrelationship data. For example, relationship data can includeinformation describing how particular members of a user's social graphare connected to the user (e.g., through what social path is aparticular entity connected to the user). Relationship data can alsoinclude information describing any relevant social signals incorporatedin the user's social graph. In some implementations, relationship datacan be stored in a relationship lookup table (e.g., a hash table).Suitable keys for locating values (e.g., relationship data) within thelookup table can include information describing the respectiveidentities of both a user and any member of the user's social graph. Forexample, a suitable key for locating relationship data within the lookuptable can be (User X, User Y), where User Y is a member of User X'ssocial graph.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an example process 200 for using socialgraph information. For convenience, the process 200 will be describedwith respect to a system, including one or more computing devices, thatperforms the process 200.

The system identifies a user (202). The user can be identified, forexample, based on a user profile associated with the system. The userprofile can be identified, for example, when the user logs into thesystem using a username, electronic message address, or otheridentifier.

The system determines the user's social graph (204). The user's socialgraph identifies people and resources associated with the user, forexample, in which the user has indicated an interest. In someimplementations, the social graph is limited to a specified number ofdegrees of separation from the user or particular relationships or typesof interaction with the user. In some implementations, the user's socialgraph is generated by another system and provided upon request. In someexamples, the user's social graph can be provided as an index thatidentifies each member of the user's social graph and indicates one ormore services, through which the user and the member are connected(e.g., electronic message contacts, social networking contacts, etc.).

In some implementations, the user's social graph is determined usinguser profile data, as well as extracting information from users andresources identified in the user profile data. For example, the user'sprofile can include a list of the user's friends. The user's friends caninclude friends within the system (e.g., using a same e-mail or chatservice that is affiliated with the system) or external to the system(e.g., social graphs or a list of contacts associated with third partyapplications or service providers). The user's profile can also includea list of subscriptions to which the user belongs (e.g., identifyingcontent that the user follows, for example, particular blogs or feeds).

The user's profile can also include external links identified by theuser. These links can identify particular content of interest. In someimplementations, the user's profile also identifies other aliases usedby the user (e.g., as associated with particular content providers orsocial graph sources). For example, a user may have a first identity fora chat application and a second identity for a restaurant review website. These two identities can be linked together in order to unify thecontent associated with that user.

The social graph can be further expanded by extracting information fromthe identified people and content in the user's profile. For example,public profile information can exist for identified friends from whichinformation can be extracted (e.g., their friends, links, andsubscriptions). In some implementations, the user can adjust the membersof the social graph directly. For example, the user can group theircontacts (e.g., e-mail contacts) into particular groups accessed by thesystem in building the user's social graph.

Similarly, in some implementations, a user can prevent the system fromadding members to the user's social graph, for example, by an opt-outoption or by keeping contacts out of the particular groups used by thesystem to generate the social graph. In some implementations, privacyfeatures provide a user with an opt-in or opt-out option to allow orprevent, respectively, being included (or remove the user if alreadyincluded) as a member of another's social graph. Thus, users can havecontrol over what personal information or connection information, ifany, is included in social graphs.

The system can identify information associated with the user's socialgraph (206). The identified information associated with the user'ssocial graph can include, for example, content or postings to webresources subscribed to by the user (e.g., particular blogs and/ormicroblogs). The identified information can also include contentgenerated by members of the user's social graph. For example, members ofa user's social graph can generate content including local reviews(e.g., for restaurants or services), video reviews and ratings, productreviews, book reviews, blog comments, news comments, maps, public webannotations, public documents, streaming updates, photos and photoalbums.

The system can index the identified information associated with theuser's social graph for use in information retrieval (208). In someimplementations, identified information associated with the user'ssocial graph can be indexed by generating and incorporating suitabledata structures, such as social restricts, in an existing search index.In some examples, the system can generate social restricts by mappingthe identified information to corresponding web resources referenced ina search index and determining the social connection between the webresources and the user. For example, the system can access arelationship lookup table which includes relationship data describing auser's social graph to determine such social connections. In someexamples, social restricts can be provided in the form of an informationtag associated with a referenced web resource included in the searchindex.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example process 300 for retrieving andpresenting search results including social graph information. Forconvenience, the process 300 will be described with respect to a searchsystem including one or more computing devices that performs the process300.

The search system receives a search query from a user (302). Forexample, the user can input a search query into a search interface of aparticular system. The search query includes one or more terms and canbe general or directed to particular types of resources (e.g., a websearch or an image search).

The user can submit the search query from a client device. The clientcan be a computer coupled to the search system through a local areanetwork (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), e.g., the Internet. In someimplementations, the search system and the client device is a singlemachine. For example, a user can install a desktop search application onthe client device. The user can submit the search query to a searchengine within the search system.

When the user submits the search query, the search query is transmittedthrough a network to the search system. The search system can beimplemented as, for example, computer programs running on one or morecomputers in one or more locations that are coupled to each otherthrough a network.

The search system retrieves search results including search resultsassociated with the user's social graph (304). For example, the systemcan retrieve search results including content generated by one or moremembers of the user's social graph. In some implementations, the searchsystem can include a search engine for retrieving search resultsrelevant to the received query. The search engine can include anindexing engine that indexes resources (e.g., web documents such as webpages, images, or news articles on the Internet) found in a corpus(e.g., a collection or repository of content), a search index thatstores the index information, and a resource locator for identifyingresources within the search index that are responsive to the query (forexample, by implementing a query text matching routine).

In some examples, the search engine can also include a ranking engine(or other software) to rank web resources that match the query. Theindexing and/or ranking of the web resources can be performed usingconventional or other techniques. In some implementations, theidentified information associated with the user's social graph can beincluded in a same index as other resources or a separate index.Consequently, a separate search can be performed for general searchresults responsive to the query, as well as particular search resultsthat identify resources associated with the user's social graph (e.g.,endorsed web resources).

The system presents one or more of search results including searchresults associated with the user's social graph (306). For example, thesearch system can present search results representing content generatedby one or more members of the user's social graph and/or the searchinguser themself. In some implementations, the search engine can transmitretrieved search results through the network to the client device forpresentation to the user, for example, as a search results web page tobe displayed in a web browser running on the client device. In someimplementations, the search system presents responsive search resultsassociated with the user's social graph together in a cluster, separatefrom any general search results. In some embodiments, the systempresents search results associated with the user's social graphintermixed with any retrieved general search results.

FIG. 4 is a representation of an example search results page 400 thatincludes results associated with the user's social graph. The searchresults page 400 displays example search results responsive to theexample query “safari in Tanzania.” In the depicted example, thedisplayed search results include web search results 402 and image searchresults 404. The web search results 402 include search results 402 a,402 b, 402 c, 402 d. The search results 402 a, 402 b, 402 c areassociated with resources (e.g., web pages) that are publicly accessibleon the Internet.

The search result 402 d includes user-generated content that is deemedto be relevant to the search query. In the depicted example, the searchresult 402 d includes access controlled content provided as a post thatis distributed using a social networking service. For example, theauthor user “Jane Friend” generated the post and distributed the post toselect users. In the depicted example, the distribution for the post isprovided as “Limited,” indicating that only users selected by the authoruser are able to access the post. Consequently, “Jane Friend” is amember of the searching user's social graph and the searching user hasbeen identified in the distribution. In some examples, the distributioncan include a public distribution, such that any user, whether a contactof the author user, is able to access the post.

The image results 404 include responsive search results associated withimages that are publicly available and images that are associated with asocial graph of the user. For example, the image results can includeimages 404 a, 404 b, 404 c. In the depicted example, the images 404 a,404 b can include publicly available images and the image 404 c includesan image that is posted by a member of the searching user's socialgraph. For example, the image 404 c can be an image posted by the user“Jane Friend,” who authored the post provided as the search result 402d.

FIG. 5 depicts example components that can be used to provideuser-generated content in search results based on a user's social graph.The example components include a search component 502, a content datasource 504, a user-generated content data source 506 and a profile datasource 508. In some examples, the search component 502 can be providedas one or more computer programs executed using on or more computingdevices (e.g., servers). In some examples, each of the data sources 504,506, 508 can be provided as one or more computer-readable storagedevices (e.g., databases). The search component 502 can communicate witheach of the data sources 504, 506, 508 via a network (e.g., a local areanetwork (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), the Internet). The searchcomponent 502 receives user input, processes the user input based ondata of provided from the data sources 504, 506, 508 and generatessearch results. The user input can be provided via a computing device(e.g., a client computing device) and the search results can be providedto the computing device for display to the user.

In some examples, the user input can include user log-in information(e.g., username and password) that can be used to log the user into asearch service provided by the search component 502. The searchcomponent 502 can identify a user profile based on the user input andcan retrieve profile data corresponding to the user from the profiledata source 508. In some examples, the user profile data can include acontact index 510. The contact index 510 can be used to identify membersof the user's social graph. For example, the user's social graph caninclude user's U₁, . . . U_(n).

The user input can include a search query that is received by the searchcomponent 502. In response to receiving the search query, the searchcomponent 502 can process data provided by the content data source 504and the user-generated data source 506 to generate search results. Insome examples, in response to receiving the search query, the searchcomponent 502 can retrieve the contact index 510 corresponding to theuser that provided the search query (e.g., based on the user's log-ininformation). The search component 502 can access the user-generateddata source 506 to retrieve user-generated content that may be relevantto the search results and that the search user is allowed access to. Insome examples, the user-generated content can include electronicmessages, chats, posts to social networking services, blog posts, and/ormicro-blog posts. The user-generated content can be content that isgenerated by members of the searching user's social graph or contentthat is generated by the searching user themselves. The search component502 can receive the user-generated content and data associated with theuser-generated content. The search component 502 can determine whetherparticular user-generated content is to be provided as search results.In some examples, and as discussed in further detail herein, the searchcomponent can determine whether and how to display particularuser-generated content as search results based on the parameters. Insome examples, whether the particular user-generated content is to bedisplayed can be determined based on the search query.

By way of non-limiting example, the user-generated content can include apost that is posted to a social networking service. Example dataassociated with the post can include a timestamp, a topicality score(TS) and a post score (PS) (also referred to as an overall score). Insome examples, the timestamp indicates a time that the post wasdistributed to the social networking service. In some examples, thetimestamp indicates a time when an event occurred to the post. Exampleevents can include a comment to the post, a re-sharing of the post andan endorsement of the post.

In some examples, the topicality score can indicate a degree to whichthe content of the post pertains to the search query. In some examples,the topicality score can indicate a degree to which the content of thepost pertains to a matter of interest. In some examples, content canpertain to a matter that is recently in the news. For example, a matterof interest can include a natural disaster and can be a frequent topicof content distributed on the Internet within a given time period. Ifthe content of the post relates to the natural disaster, the post may bedeemed to be topical and can have an associated topicality scorereflecting this.

In some examples, the post score (or overall score) reflects a qualityof the post and a relevance of the post to the particular searchinguser. For example, the post can have a first post score associatedtherewith that reflects a quality of the post and a relevance of thepost to a first searching user. The post can have a second post scoreassociated therewith that reflects a quality of the post and a relevanceof the post to a second searching user. The first post score and thesecond post score can be different from one another.

In some examples, the topicality score and the post scores are generatedby a scoring service and can be provided to the user-generated contentdata store (e.g., the data store 506 of FIG. 5).

In some implementations, whether the user-generated content is to bedisplayed in the search results can be determined based on the searchquery. In some examples, it can be determined whether the search queryprovided by the searching user is a trending search query. In someexample, a trending search query can include a search query that isfrequently provided to a searching service for a given period of time.By way of non-limiting example, a first search query can be provided tothe searching service X times by various users within the last Y days. Asecond search query can be provided to the searching service Z times byvarious searching users within the last Y days. A first frequency can bedetermined based on X and a second frequency can be determined based onZ. The first frequency and the second frequency can be compared to athreshold frequency. If a frequency is greater than or equal to thethreshold frequency, the associated search query can be deemed to be atrending search query. For example, the first frequency is greater thanor equal to the threshold frequency and the second frequency is lessthan the threshold frequency. Consequently, the first search query isdetermined to be a trending search query and the second search query isnot determined to be a trending search query.

In some implementations, user-generated content can be identified as apotential search result based on a relevance of the user-generatedcontent to the search query. In some examples, if the identifieduser-generated content is determined to be sufficiently recent and isdetermined to be sufficiently topical, the user-generated content isdisplayed as a search result. In some examples, if the user-generatedcontent is not deemed to be sufficiently recent or the user-generatedcontent is not deemed to be sufficiently topical, it can be determinedwhether the search query used to identify the user-generated content asa potential search result is a trending query. If the search query is atrending query, if the user-generated content is deemed to be somewhatrecent and if the user-generated content is determined to be somewhattopical, the user-generated content is displayed as a search result. Insome examples, if the search query is not a trending query, if theuser-generated content is not deemed to be somewhat recent or if theuser-generated content is not determined to be somewhat topical, and, ifthe post score of the user-generated content is greater than or equal toa threshold post score, the user-generated content is displayed as asearch result. In some examples, if the search query is not a trendingquery, if the user-generated content is not deemed to be somewhat recentor if the user-generated content is not determined to be somewhattopical, and if the post score of the user-generated content is lessthan a threshold post score, the user-generated content is not displayedas a search result.

In some examples, whether user-generated content is sufficiently recentcan be determined based on a current time (t_(CURR)), the timestamp ofthe user-generated content (t_(POST)) and a first threshold (t_(THR1)).In some examples, the current time is provided as the time at which thesearch query is submitted by the searching user. In some examples, atime difference (t_(DIFF)) can be determined as a difference between thecurrent time and the timestamp of the user-generated content. If thetime difference is less than the first threshold, the user-generatedcontent can be determined to be sufficiently recent. In some examples,whether user-generated content is somewhat recent can be determinedbased on the current time, the timestamp of the user-generated contentand a second threshold (t_(THR2)). In some examples, if the timedifference is less than the second threshold, the user-generated contentcan be determined to be somewhat recent. In some examples, the firstthreshold is less than the second threshold.

In some examples, whether user-generated content is sufficiently topicalcan be determined based on a topicality score of the user-generatedcontent (TS_(POST)) and a first topicality score threshold (TS_(THR1)).If the topicality score of the user-generated content is less than thefirst topicality score threshold, the user-generated content can bedetermined to be sufficiently topical. In some examples, whetheruser-generated content is somewhat topical can be determined based onthe topicality score of the user-generated content and a secondtopicality score threshold (TS_(THR2)). If the topicality score of theuser-generated content is less than the second topicality scorethreshold, the user-generated content can be determined to be somewhattopical. In some examples, the first topicality score threshold isgreater than the second topicality score threshold.

In some implementations, if it is determined that the user-generatedcontent is to be displayed in the search results, how and where theuser-generated content is displayed can be determined. In some examples,the user-generated content can be displayed at the bottom of a searchresults page. In some examples, the user-generated content can bedisplayed within other search results (e.g., in the middle of a searchresults page). By way of non-limiting example, if the time difference,discussed above, is less than a third threshold (t_(THR3)) and thetopicality score is greater than or equal to a third thresholdtopicality score (TS_(THR3)), the user-generated content is providedwithin other search results (e.g., in the middle or towards the top of asearch results page). In some examples, the first threshold is equal tothe third threshold. In some examples, the first topicality scorethreshold is equal to the third topicality score threshold. In theexample of FIG. 4, it can be determined that the user-generated contentof the search result 402 d is associated with a time difference that isless than the third threshold and a topicality score that is greaterthan or equal to the third threshold topicality score. Consequently, theuser-generated content of the search result 402 d is displayed in-linewith the other search results 402 a, 402 b, 402 c.

In some implementations, user-generated content that includes an imagecan be analyzed to determine where to display the user-generated contentwithin the search results. In some examples, if the user-generatedcontent includes a single image and text, the user-generated content canbe displayed as a web search result (e.g., in the web search results 402of FIG. 4), as discussed above. In some examples, if the user-generatedcontent includes one or more images without text, the image can bedisplayed within the image search results. In the example of FIG. 4, theimage 404 c can be an image that was provided in a post that wasdistributed using a social networking service and that did not includetext. Consequently, the image 404 c is displayed in the image searchresults 404 instead of the underlying post being displayed as a searchresult in and of itself. In some examples, if the user-generated contentincludes a plurality of images with text, the user-generated content canbe displayed as a web search result (e.g., in the web search results 402of FIG. 4) and the images can be displayed as image search results(e.g., in the image search results 404 of FIG. 4).

In some implementations, a user may provide permission (e.g., to asearch engine) to access an account containing the user's confidentialor non-public user-generated content. For example, the user may give asearch engine permission to access electronic messaging account, acalendar, a cloud drive, and so forth. In some implementations, thesearch engine may index messages or other content in the account, mayretrieve messages or other content that match a search query, and maypresent these messages, or portions thereof, in search results.

In some implementations, if an input search query does not specificallyrequest electronic messaging content (e.g., if the query were to read“biking in Tahoe” only), the search engine may still make confidentialor non-public search content available to the user (where appropriatepermission has been obtained). For example, a search query (e.g.,“biking in Tahoe”), does not include any reference to electronicmessages or other user-generated content. In some implementations, thesearch engine may identify relevant user-generated content in the mannerdescribed above, and provide the user with an option to view the searchresults. In some implementations, the option identifies the type ofuser-generated content that it contains. For example, the option canspecify electronic messages. In some implementations, additional optionsmay be available to provide relevant content, e.g., from a user's onlinecalendar, cloud drive, and so forth.

In some implementations, selecting a corresponding option displays thecorresponding content. For example, selecting the option to viewelectronic messages may cause the display of portions of electronicmessages. For example, selecting a displayed electronic message maydirect the user to their messaging account to view the entire contentsof that message. The same may be true for other types of content, suchas calendar content and cloud drive documents.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an example process 600 that can be executedin implementations of the present disclosure. For convenience, theexample process 600 will be described with respect to a system includingone or more computing devices that performs the example process 600.

The ID of searching user is determined (602). In some examples, the IDof the searching user (i.e., the user that is performing a search) canbe determined based on user log-in information (e.g., username andpassword). A contact index corresponding to the searching user ID isretrieved (604). A search query is received (606). It is determinedwhether the search query is a trending search query (608). If the searchquery is a trending search query, a trending search query indicator isset (610).

Search results are generated and are received (612). It is determinedwhether the search results include user-generated content. In theexample context, it is determined whether the search results includedigital content (e.g., posts) distributed by contacts of the user withina computer-implemented social networking service (614). If the searchresults do not include user-generated content, the search results aredisplayed (616).

If the search results include user-generated content, it is determinedwhether the user-generated content is to be displayed in the searchresults. In the example context, it is determined whether digitalcontent (e.g., posts) distributed by contacts of the user within thecomputer-implemented social networking service are to be displayed(618). If it is determined that the user-generated content is not to bedisplayed, the user-generated content is removed from the search resultsand the search results are displayed (616). If it is determined that theuser-generated content is to be displayed, the user-generated content isblended with the other search results and the search results aredisplayed (616).

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an example process 700 that can be executedin implementations of the present disclosure. For convenience, theexample process 700 will be described with respect to a system includingone or more computing devices that performs the example process 700. Insome examples, the process 700 can be executed to determine whetherparticular user-generated content (e.g., posts posted to a socialnetworking service).

Data associated with the user-generated content is retrieved. In theexample context, data associated with digital content (e.g., posts)distributed by contacts of the user within the computer-implementedsocial networking service is retrieved (702). The data can be used todetermine whether to display the user-generated content within thesearch results. In some implementations, the data can be used todetermine where and how to display the user-generated content within thesearch results. In some examples, the data can include timestamp data(e.g., when the user-generated content was generated, commented on,re-shared) and scoring data. Example scoring data can include a socialcontent score and a topicality score.

It is determined whether the time difference (t_(DIFF)) is less than thefirst threshold (t_(THR1)) (704). If t_(DIFF) is less than t_(THR1), itis determined whether the topicality score (TS_(POST)) is greater thanor equal to the first threshold topicality score (TS_(THR1)) (708). Ift_(DIFF) is not less than t_(THR1), it is determined whether the searchquery is a trending query (710). If TS_(POST) exceeds or is equal toTS_(THR1), the user-generated content is displayed in search results(712). If TS_(POST) does not exceed or is not equal to TS_(THR1), it isdetermined whether the search query is a trending query (710). If thesearch query is not a trending query, it is determined whether the postscore (PS_(POST)) associated with the user-generated content exceeds oris equal to a threshold post score (PS_(THR)) (714). If the search queryis a trending query, it is determined whether t_(DIFF) is less than thesecond threshold (t_(THR2)) (718). If t_(DIFF) is not less thant_(THR2), it is determined whether PS_(POST) exceeds or is equal toPS_(THR) (714). If t_(DIFF) is less than t_(THR2), it is determinedwhether TS_(POST) exceeds or is equal to the second threshold topicalityscore (TS_(THR2)) (720). If TS_(POST) exceeds or is equal to TS_(THR2),the user-generated content is displayed in search results (712). IfTS_(POST) does not exceed or is not equal to TS_(THR2), it is determinedwhether PS_(POST) exceeds or is equal to PS_(THR) (714). If PS_(POST)exceeds or is equal to PS_(THR), the user-generated content is displayedin search results (712). If PS_(POST) does not exceed or is not equal toPS_(THR), the user-generated content is not displayed in search results(712).

Implementations of the present disclosure and all of the functionaloperations described in this specification can be implemented in digitalelectronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware,including the structures disclosed in this specification and theirstructural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them.Embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented as one or morecomputer program products, i.e., one or more modules of computer programinstructions encoded on a computer-readable medium for execution by, orto control the operation of, data processing apparatus. Thecomputer-readable medium can be a machine-readable storage device, amachine-readable storage substrate, a memory device, a composition ofmatter effecting a machine-readable propagated signal, or a combinationof one or more them. The term “data processing apparatus” encompassesall apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including byway of example a programmable processor, a computer, or multipleprocessors or computers. The apparatus can include, in addition tohardware, code that creates an execution environment for the computerprogram in question, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, aprotocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or acombination of one or more of them. A propagated signal is anartificially generated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical,optical, or electromagnetic signal, that is generated to encodeinformation for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can bedeployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module,component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computingenvironment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to afile in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a filethat holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in amarkup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program inquestion, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store oneor more modules, sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer programcan be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computersthat are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites andinterconnected by a communication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform functions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC(application-specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andany one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory ora random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for performing instructions and one or more memory devicesfor storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will alsoinclude, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer datato, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g.,magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computerneed not have such devices. Moreover, a computer can be embedded inanother device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a mobile audio player, a Global Positioning System (GPS)receiver, to name just a few. Computer-readable media suitable forstoring computer program instructions and data include all forms ofnon-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way ofexample semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flashmemory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removabledisks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. Theprocessor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in,special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the presentdisclosure can be implemented on a computer having a display device,e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor,for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointingdevice, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which the user can provideinput to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide forinteraction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to theuser can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback,auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user can bereceived in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.

Embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in a computingsystem that includes a back-end component, e.g., as a data server, orthat includes a middleware component, e.g., an application server, orthat includes a front-end component, e.g., a client computer having agraphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user caninteract with an implementation of the present disclosure, or anycombination of one or more such back-end, middleware, or front-endcomponents. The components of the system can be interconnected by anyform or medium of digital data communication, e.g., a communicationnetwork. Examples of communication networks include a local area network(“LAN”) and a wide area network (“WAN”), e.g., the Internet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

While this specification contains many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure or ofwhat may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific toparticular embodiments of the present disclosure. Certain features thatare described in this specification in the context of separateembodiments can also be implemented in combination in a singleembodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in thecontext of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multipleembodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover,although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the embodiments described above should not be understoodas requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should beunderstood that the described program components and systems cangenerally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

Thus, particular embodiments of the present disclosure have beendescribed. Other embodiments are within the scope of the followingclaims. For example, the actions recited in the claims can be performedin a different order and still achieve desirable results.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:receiving, by one or more processors, a search query; receiving, by oneor more processors, an identifier associated with a user that submittedthe search query; identifying, by the one or more processors, potentialsearch results responsive to the search query, the potential searchresults corresponding to digital content stored in one or morecomputer-readable storage media; and determining, by the one or moreprocessors and at least partly based on the identifier, that thepotential search results comprise user-generated content that isgenerated using one or more social computer-implemented services, andthat the user is allowed to access the user-generated content based onrespective access controls applied to the user-generated content byauthors thereof, the user-generated content comprising one or morecontent items, and in response: receiving, by the one or moreprocessors, data associated with the user-generated content, the datacomprising one or more scores associated with respective content items,at least one score being specific to the user and a respective contentitem, for at least one content item, determining a time difference basedon a timestamp associated with the at least one content item, the timedifference indicating how recently the at least one content item wasactive, and determining, based on the time difference and the one ormore scores, that the at least one content item is to be provided as asearch result, receiving, by the one or more processors, search results,the search results comprising web-based search results and the at leastcontent item, and transmitting, by the one or more processors, thesearch results to a client computing device for display to the searchinguser.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that atopicality score associated with the at least one content item isgreater than or equal to a threshold topicality score, the topicalityscore being included in the one or more scores, wherein determining thatthe at least one content item is to be provided as a search resultoccurs in response to determining that the topicality score associatedwith the at least one content item is greater than or equal to thethreshold topicality score.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein thetopicality score indicates a degree to which the at least one contentitem pertains to the search query.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein thetopicality score indicates a degree to which the at least one contentitem pertains to a matter of interest.
 5. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising determining that the at least one content item is recentlygenerated content, wherein determining that the topicality scoreassociated with the at least one content item is greater than or equalto the threshold topicality score occurs in response to determining thatthe at least one content item is recently generated content.
 6. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising: determining that the search queryis a trending search query; and determining that the at least onecontent item is recently generated content, wherein determining that thetopicality score associated with the at least one content item isgreater than or equal to the threshold topicality score occurs inresponse to determining that the search query is a trending search queryand determining that the at least one content item is recently generatedcontent.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining thatan overall score associated with the at least one content item isgreater than or equal to a threshold overall score, the overall scorebeing included in the one or more scores, wherein determining that theat least one content item is to be provided as a search result occurs inresponse to determining that the overall score associated with the atleast one content item is greater than or equal to the threshold overallscore.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising determining that thesearch query is not a trending search query, wherein determining thatthe overall score associated with the at least one content item isgreater than or equal to the threshold overall score occurs in responseto determining that the search query is not a trending search query. 9.The method of claim 7, wherein the overall score reflects a quality ofthe at least one content item and a relevance of the at least onecontent item to the searching user.
 10. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining that the at least one content item comprises adigital image; and determining that the digital image is to be displayedwithin an image search results portion of the search results.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, further comprising determining that the at least onecontent item is without text associated with the digital image, whereindetermining that the digital image is to be displayed within the imagesearch results portion of the search results occurs in response todetermining that the at least one content item is without textassociated with the digital image.
 12. A system comprising: one or morecomputers configured to perform operations comprising: receiving asearch query; receiving an identifier associated with a user thatsubmitted the search query; identifying potential search resultsresponsive to the search query, the potential search resultscorresponding to digital content stored in one or more computer-readablestorage media; determining, at least partly based on the identifier,that the potential search results comprise user-generated content thatis generated using one or more social computer-implemented services, andthat the user is allowed to access the user-generated content based onrespective access controls applied to the user-generated content byauthors thereof, the user-generated content comprising one or morecontent items, and in response: receiving data associated with theuser-generated content, the data comprising one or more scoresassociated with respective content items, at least one score beingspecific to the user and a respective content item, for at least onecontent item, determining a time difference based on a timestampassociated with the at least one content item, the time differenceindicating how recently the at least one content item was active, anddetermining, based on the time difference and the one or more scores,that the at least one content item is to be provided as a search result,receiving search results, the search results comprising web-based searchresults and the at least content item, and transmitting the searchresults to a client computing device for display to the searching user.13. The system of claim 12, wherein operations further comprisedetermining that a topicality score associated with the at least onecontent item is greater than or equal to a threshold topicality score,the topicality score being included in the one or more scores, whereindetermining that the at least one content item is to be provided as asearch result occurs in response to determining that the topicalityscore associated with the at least one content item is greater than orequal to the threshold topicality score.
 14. The system of claim 13,wherein the topicality score indicates a degree to which the at leastone content item pertains to the search query.
 15. The system of claim13, wherein the topicality score indicates a degree to which the atleast one content item pertains to a matter of interest.
 16. The systemof claim 13, wherein operations further comprise determining that the atleast one content item is recently generated content, whereindetermining that the topicality score associated with the at least onecontent item is greater than or equal to the threshold topicality scoreoccurs in response to determining that the at least one content item isrecently generated content.
 17. The system of claim 13, whereinoperations further comprise: determining that the search query is atrending search query; and determining that the at least one contentitem is recently generated content, wherein determining that thetopicality score associated with the at least one content item isgreater than or equal to the threshold topicality score occurs inresponse to determining that the search query is a trending search queryand determining that the at least one content item is recently generatedcontent.
 18. The system of claim 12, wherein operations further comprisedetermining that an overall score associated with the at least onecontent item is greater than or equal to a threshold overall score, theoverall score being included in the one or more scores, whereindetermining that the at least one content item is to be provided as asearch result occurs in response to determining that the overall scoreassociated with the at least one content item is greater than or equalto the threshold overall score.
 19. The system of claim 18, whereinoperations further comprise determining that the search query is not atrending search query, wherein determining that the overall scoreassociated with the at least one content item is greater than or equalto the threshold overall score occurs in response to determining thatthe search query is not a trending search query.
 20. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by oneor more processors, cause the one or more processors to performoperations comprising: receiving a search query; receiving an identifierassociated with a user that submitted the search query; identifyingpotential search results responsive to the search query, the potentialsearch results corresponding to digital content stored in one or morecomputer-readable storage media; determining, at least partly based onthe identifier, that the potential search results compriseuser-generated content that is generated using one or more socialcomputer-implemented services, and that the user is allowed to accessthe user-generated content based on respective access controls appliedto the user-generated content by authors thereof, the user-generatedcontent comprising one or more content items, and in response: receivingdata associated with the user-generated content, the data comprising oneor more scores associated with respective content items, at least onescore being specific to the user and a respective content item, for atleast one content item, determining a time difference based on atimestamp associated with the at least one content item, the timedifference indicating how recently the at least one content item wasactive, and determining, based on the time difference and the one ormore scores, that the at least one content item is to be provided as asearch result, receiving search results, the search results comprisingweb-based search results and the at least content item, and transmittingthe search results to a client computing device for display to thesearching user.
 21. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, whereinthe operations further comprise determining that a topicality scoreassociated with the at least one content item is greater than or equalto a threshold topicality score, the topicality score being included inthe one or more scores, wherein determining that the at least onecontent item is to be provided as a search result occurs in response todetermining that the topicality score associated with the at least onecontent item is greater than or equal to the threshold topicality score.22. The computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the topicalityscore indicates a degree to which the at least one content item pertainsto the search query.
 23. The computer-readable medium of claim 21,wherein the topicality score indicates a degree to which the at leastone content item pertains to a matter of interest.
 24. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein operations furthercomprise determining that the at least one content item is recentlygenerated content, wherein determining that the topicality scoreassociated with the at least one content item is greater than or equalto the threshold topicality score occurs in response to determining thatthe at least one content item is recently generated content.
 25. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein operations furthercomprise: determining that the search query is a trending search query;and determining that the at least one content item is recently generatedcontent, wherein determining that the topicality score associated withthe at least one content item is greater than or equal to the thresholdtopicality score occurs in response to determining that the search queryis a trending search query and determining that the at least one contentitem is recently generated content.
 26. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 20, wherein operations further comprise determining that anoverall score associated with the at least one content item is greaterthan or equal to a threshold overall score, the overall score beingincluded in the one or more scores, wherein determining that the atleast one content item is to be provided as a search result occurs inresponse to determining that the overall score associated with the atleast one content item is greater than or equal to the threshold overallscore.
 27. The computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein operationsfurther comprise determining that the search query is not a trendingsearch query, wherein determining that the overall score associated withthe at least one content item is greater than or equal to the thresholdoverall score occurs in response to determining that the search query isnot a trending search query.